


The missing piece

by zakari_little_lion



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-10 10:09:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5581699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zakari_little_lion/pseuds/zakari_little_lion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beca just moved in Barden, with her 4 years old son Ethan. New school, new friends, new life... Not that it really mattered to the DJ, her only priority was Ethan's happiness. But then, a cart crash changed it all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

6.48

It was the exact time Ethan saw when he laid his eyes on the luminous numbers of his alarm o'clock. He stared intensely at the time, silently prying for it to hurry up, but after a good 30 seconds of ferocious fight, the young brunette had to cry uncle. He sighted loudly when the numbers stayed unchanged and laid quietly on his back on his bed. Feeling bored almost to death, the brunette started to sing in order to pass the time. His cheerful voice resounded in his tiny room that was his bedroom and he fidgeted under the sheets, dreaming up a guitar between his fingers. Verses and choruses followed one another, he was singing his head off without hitting a single wrong note.

Eventually, as soon as he saw the clock show 7 o'clock, either after a whole four-different-songs concert, Ethan rushed out of his bed. He ran, his cuddly toy safely tucked under his left arm, until the end of the corridor where he opened the door, as delicately as an overexcited and lacking of dexterity four-year-old could open a door, while trying to not wake the person on the other side. In the bed was his mother, sleeping like a baby. Tiptoeing, Ethan approached the motionless bump and jumped on it.

"Mommy, wake up!"

Unfortunately, the form stayed steadily frozen under the sheets. Not even a single hair had moved. He placed a leg on each side of his mother's slim body to straddle her and shook lightly her shoulders.

"Mommmmmmmyyyyyyy, wake up," he murmured.

Suddenly, two big irises opened wide, taking Ethan by surprise. Two hands grabbed Ethan by his midsection and tickled him mercilessly. The little boy erupted in giggles and squirmed wildly, kicking his feet in the air to get rid of Beca's offensive hands.

"Momm-Mommy st-stop!" the toddler exclaimed between giggles.

However the tickling only grew more intense, stroking Ethan's armpit, an area more than well known by his mom as his weak spot. Ethan laughed harder, tears of joy were tricking down his face and by the sight of them, the DJ knew she had accomplished her mission.

"Hello, little monster," Beca said, a big grin playing on her lips.

"Hi mommy," chuckled the boy with a smile just as big plastered on his face.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked before kissing his forehead.

"Yeah!"

"Ready to go to school today?"

Ethan and Beca had moved in a couple of weeks ago. Ethan was already used to his new environment but when it came to school, he was still anxious. New teacher, new classmates, new friends…

The little boy merely nodded and let himself be carried by his mommy's arms, the comforting and unique odor that was emanating from her seizing his nose. Once they arrived at the bottom of the stairs, Beca headed towards the kitchen and put him down on a chair. Like every morning, Ethan thrashed around while she put out the bare necessities for their breakfast. She placed a bowl of milk with cereals in front of him and helped herself to some coffee.

"Mommy, why don't you ever make us pancakes?"

"Remember when there was smoke everywhere and the fire alarm set off? That's exactly why I don't make pancakes."

Ethan chuckled at the memory of the giant shambles mess caused by this fiasco and how it had angered his mommy and a smile slipped on the DJ's lips. No sound was as great as hearing her son laughing, except maybe the 'I love you' he used to whisper while he was all wrapped up in her arms. Yeah, that was definitely the best thing of the world.

Before she even knew it, they were dressed and ready to go to the school. Hand in hand, the two walked along the houses and turned with a surprising ease. However, Beca was focused, careful not turn the wrong way and she was grateful that Ethan, for once, willingly kept his mouth close.

As soon as they turned the last bend in the road, they arrived in front of a big building -from now on known as Ethan's school-. Kids were already running by the playground, some cried as they saw their parents leave, some were throwing rocks at each other: a real nightmare in Beca's eyes. The DJ saw a school supervisor and headed towards him, Ethan following closely behind.

"Excuse-me," asked the DJ and the supervisor turned around. "Hey, I registered Ethan here about a week ago, we just moved in the neighborhood. Can you show me th-"

"Ethan Mitchell?"

"Hum, yes." She replied doubtfully, that was weird that he knew her son.

"I'm Mister Smith. Ethan is in my class this year, you are?"

Hearing this, Beca's eyebrows shot up in surprise. This guy didn't look like a teacher, but more of a surfboard-er coming out straight ahead of celebrities magazines pages. The young man eyed Beca, not by disdain but by indecision. A woman that young could be either Ethan's sister, either his mother.

"Beca Mitchell. Ethan's mother, the little bad-ass guy next to me."

The blond knelt at the toddler's level and Ethan hide behind his mother's legs, tightening his grip on his mother's hand to be sure she didn't flew away.

"Hi Ethan, I'm Mister Smith." He said in a warm voice and extended one of his hands to the boy. Shyly, the young brunette shook it. "I'm going to teach you everything you need to know this year. Would you like to come with me? I can present you all your new classmates if you want. They're very cool."

Rather than answering straight away, Ethan looked at his mother, his eyes silently asking if he should follow the blond or not. She knelt and nodded to him with a smile. The little boy brought his arms around her neck and Beca did the same with him. She took a deep breath, letting her child's odor invade her spirit and whispered 'I love you' to him. Ethan tightened his grip straight away and replied 'I love you too' before letting go completely.

"See you later, mommy," he said with a big grin on his face and ran to the playground next to Mr. Smith.

Beca looked at her son rushing away. He already had gone to pre-school last year, she was used to seeing him leave but she couldn't help but feel the sting in her heart she felt every time. With one last look, she saw Ethan played with a blond girl in the sandbox, he was laughing cheerfully. She already knew what it meant: she was going to find sand in the house for at least the three followings days. Knowing that her son was in a secure environment, she headed to her own torture room: college.

A glance at her watch told her she was going to be late for her first day of school of the year. She walked faster and eventually arrived face to face to buildings naked of all students. Beca went to her class, quietly thanking her father for showing her around a few days ago and thus avoiding her 15 minutes of intense research to find her classroom. Once she had arrived, she knocked and waited for the angry 'enter' before crossing the door of her economy class.

Behind the lectern stood a man in his late fifties, his short hair going gray and his glasses as thick as oyster's shells had a grave and accusing look written on his face. He raised an eyebrow at this unexpected entry.

"I'm delighted to see you honor us of your presence, miss," he mocked.

"Sorry, they told me to go to hell. I couldn't find it at first but I'm here now!" she smirked, sarcasm lacing her voice and took a place in front of the very stupefied eyes of her classmates and a horrified professor.

With a triumphant entry like this one, she had all interest to watch her step until at least the end of the year. A real challenge for the brunette, who couldn't keep her sarcastic remarks for herself more than 2 hours. Quickly taking out her stuff, she started to take notes.

* * *

After 4 long endless hours for Beca, the bell eventually rang signaling the end of her agony. She picked her stuff up and walked out of the class. She didn't need any persuasion to stay with her new professor.

The DJ headed towards the nearest supermarket, considering what was left in her fridge -she was going to have to buy something to eat something. Warded off of her cart, she walked along the shelves with a surprising agility for such a young woman. This was the result of multiple years of shopping with a toddler sat in the cart, Ethan's hands would travel through the shelves and add un-programmed articles to the cart. Beca had quickly learned to keep a reasonable distance from the shelves and to navigate as efficiency as possible between them. Turning at full speed towards the fruits and vegetables, she failed to see another cart, which lead to an awful sound and to spill all the articles of inside the other cart on the floor.

"Oh, shit! Sorry, I'm so sorry," said Beca to the young ginger whose the cart was now on the floor.

"I could have you arrest for breaking the speed limit and attempted murder with the speed you were going at," the redhead smiled.

"I don't mind the handcuffs," replied Beca with a smirk and a wink before kneeling to pick up the other woman's purchases.

The redhead joined her, sliding one by one the articles back into her cart. "I think you got it wrong though -you're supposed to hit on people who spark your interest. Not literally hit them," she smirked.

Beca shook her head, this girl definitely had some repartee and the DJ liked it. She took a moment to look at the woman she was talking to. She was a ginger, slightly tanned (more than Beca anyway), young -one or two years more than her tops- and a face all but too cheerful for un-adverted eyes. The DJ hasn't encountered a traditional grand-ma who was buying food for her old cats.

Once the last item was picked up, the brunette stood up and blinked at Chloe's angelic grin, showing her perfectly aligned teeth.

"Chloe," said the woman and offered her hand for Beca to shake.

"Beca," she replied as they shook hands.

"An uncommon name for an uncommon girl. It's pretty, though."

"Thanks. Chloe's great too."

"I'm great, so of course my name is too. Now, if I could have my hand back so I can head towards the registers ?"

Beca realized she was still shaking Chloe's hand. "Oh, sure," she handed back the hand to her owner.

The ginger flashed her one last smile and left so Beca went back to her frantic race between the shelves, a smile on her lips. There was something in this girl that had poked her interest. Maybe her daring or her audacity, Beca didn't know exactly where her attention had been poked.

* * *

Once she had swallowed up her pasta, and had learned her lesson of this morning, Beca decided to go out. A morning spent between four walls was way enough for her and the beautiful sun outside put her in good mood. Armed with her laptop and her headphones, she went to the closest park and found a spot under a tree. Comfortably set, she put her headphones and let the music carry her.

This was what her daily life consisted of for 4 years now. Everything centered around her family, music and class. Of course, her toddler was her priority then class, which let her more or less time to mix. But Beca wasn't the whiney kind of girl: she was going to succeed her studies and make her father, his wife -Sheila- and her child proud of her. No matter the sacrifices, she was going to succeed. If she hadn't had Ethan, she would have move to Los Angeles and would have thrown herself headlong into music. But with a child waiting at home for her, the DJ had given up this idea, and instead she had studied hard to find a job and provide her child with everything he had needed. She hadn't banned the music from her life. On the contrary Beca had passed her passion that run trought her veins to her son. At only 4 years old, the little boy already had the melody entwined in his life, and the DJ was proud to give him this gift.

Lost in her thoughts, Beca was only extracted from them when the music stopped and when, through her eyelids still closed, she noticed the lack of sun.

"Well, look who's there," said a female voice.

Recognizing Chloe's tone of voice, she removed her headphones from her ears then the DJ pushed herself up on to her elbows and screwed an eye open. "You're blocking the sun."

Instead of replying, the ginger sat next to her, a big smile on her face.

"What are you doing?" Beca asked, her eyebrows frowning. The DJ wasn't the most sociable person in the world but she still knew that 'you're blocking my sun' was far from an invitation to sit next to her.

"I'm sitting, obviously," replied Chloe simply. "You know, Beca, the supermarket's lighting doesn't do you any justice."

"Was that a compliment?" Beca smirked.

"Indeed, it was."

"So, what owe me the pleasure of this invasion of my personal space?"

"I was thinking that without a cart in your hands, I wouldn't risk a lot coming to talk with you."

"This cart thing is going to follow me forever, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid it is," Chloe replied with a devil smile.

"You know, just because I don't have a cart doesn't mean I'm not dangerous. What tells you I'm not a criminal on the run with the Interpol on my tail?"

"In this case, I'll have to take out the handcuffs," said Chloe, remembering the brunette's words from earlier.

Beca raised an eyebrow at Chloe's brashness. This girl was definitely something else. "Should I be worried and have a restraining order filled against you?"

"Come on, I'm fantastic, you'd be missing out."

"Wow, and modest on top of that."

"I can't help the fact I'm awesome," she shrugged. "So, what were you doing?" The redhead asked, heading the conversation on a whole new subject.

"I was mixing music."

"I'd have bet you were into music." Chloe said confidently.

"How come?"

Chloe shrugged. "Pretty sure that underneath all this make up and the sarcastic attitude was hiding a… a softer and more passionate side. A sixth sense, I suppose."

"Hey, I don't wear that much make up, and I would like to say that my sarcasm is an integral part of my super and awesome personality."

"And I'm the one with modest issues," Chloe smirked. "Who's this?" asked the redhead, motioning the wallpaper of the laptop with her chin. "Is he your little brother?"

The picture showed Ethan delivering a big sweet kiss on his mother's cheek, who was grinning from ear to ear.

Beca scratched the back of her head and the ginger saw the brunette's face lighted up with a new emotion on her face. "That's Ethan, my son."

"I wouldn't have pegged you at the mom type. How old is he?"

The brunette was surprised, that wasn't the reaction she was used to have. It was generally more along the lines 'WHAT? You have a son? In like you slept with someone and fell pregnant?' and then, people nailed her as the high school whore. "Hum… He's 4."

"Only four and already as cute as his mom."

Beca and Chloe kept on chitchatting. Well, mostly Chloe talked and Beca answered at her questions sometimes telling one of Ethan's weird adventures, which the ginger had have a good laugh over. The DJ cherished this moment. It had been a long time since she hadn't had a conversation with another human being that wasn't 4 years old or that wasn't her parents. And, oh my god, what a pleasure. She was enjoying herself so much she almost lost the track of time. Glancing at her watch, the brunette saw it was time to go pick up her toddler from school.

"Hey, I'm sorry but I have to go."

"Must you?" pouted Chloe.

"You're worst than Ethan," Beca smirked and nodded her head. "Unfortunately, all the good things have to come to an end, so me and my gorgeous body must go, otherwise I'll be late."

"I understand, a hobbit has his obligations," said the ginger with a smile. This earned her a slap on the shoulder from Beca. "I really enjoyed myself this afternoon with you, Beca. See you soon," the ginger said as she went away.

Biting her lower lip, she couldn't help her eyes from wandering onto Chloe before she eventually stood up and went to her son's school.

* * *

As soon as the bell rang, a wave of children rushed outside and she pinpointed a familiar small brunette head running towards her. She knelt and opened her arms wide, Ethan threw himself of all his body on his mother, hanging his own little arms around Beca's neck.

"Mommmmmmmmy!" shrieked Ethan.

"Hey, baby," the DJ placed a kiss on his temple. "How was school today?"

Ethan un-tangled himself and took her by the hand. "So cool! Mister Smith is super kind and guess what!"

"What, sweetheart?"

"I managed to count to 50 and he gave me a candy!" exclaimed Ethan.

On the path leading home, the little boy didn't seem to control the flood of words that was coming out of his mouth. He was definitely really happy of his first day in his new school. Beca was grinning goofily at hearing her son so content. Maybe after all, this new place would do both of them good.


	2. Chapter 2

The young boy had fit in well in his class within a week, and had become close friends with a girl named Meredith.

Every day Beca received her usual drawing, and the quantity of sand by square inch coming from the boy's shoes has yet to stop growing. Ethan and sandboxes - there was a true love story. His mom liked them far less. But you can't prevent a child from being a child, can you? The brunette had also gotten her daily set of stories of what had gone on at the school, from what her son had learned, to his fits of giggles with Meredith, Beca had a colorful description as if she had been there. He was there for barely a week, but Beca knew she didn't have to worry for him.

Ethan, however wasn't the only member of the Mitchell family for whom life was going well - things were great for the DJ too. She had met Meredith's big brother, Jesse. While Ethan and Meredith played together after school, she and Jesse had become friends. He was pretty cool and inoffensive, though he was a little clingy. Jesse also attended Barden University, so she came across him sometimes on campus.

She had missed one thing during the week, though. Or more like - someone. Chloe, the redhead that she had crashed into. The brunette had to admit that she kind of missed her. Her speech as much as her body: Chloe entertained her, and on top of that - was easy on the eye. Almost to the point where Beca could be jealous. She didn't really give her appearance any peculiar interest, but the weight she had earned during her pregnancy still wasn't all gone, letting her with a famous little "potbelly".

Beca was extracted from the mix she was making when her phone rang. She saw Jesse's name flashing on the screen and accepted the call.

"You realize it's Saturday, and it's 9 A.M., I could be sleeping."

"You realize it's Saturday, it's 9 A.M., and you're already baring your fangs?" Jesse replied.

"Is there a reason to this call?"

"You're an angel in the morning," he joked.

"I'm hanging up," she said, unperturbed.

"No, no, wait there is this activities fair this afternoon on campus, and I was wondering if you'd like to come with me?"

"I don't know. I was thinking about taking Ethan to the park this afternoon," she replied, uneasily.

"We can go there after and take Meredith with us."

"I don't know, Jesse." In fact, Beca knew she didn't want to go, but she didn't want to say no to Jesse.

"Come on, Beca! When was the last time you hang out without Ethan and actually had fun?"

"Yesterday. I went to my dad's and he told me this awesome joke," she smirked.

"What I'm gonna do with you," he muttered. "Don't make me go to your place and carry you over there."

"Jesse, you don't even know where I live."

A moment passed in silence. "Touché. Come on Beca, say yes."

"You and Meredith are too much alike. Always pushing me to the limit and making your doe eyes until I reach breaking point," she sighted.

"You think I have doe eyes?" he beamed.

Beca rolled her eyes. "Your sister does. You're look more like a gawking idiot."

"Wow, so my sister got doe eyes and I'm an idiot?"

"Jesse, she's 4. You're 19. Get over it," she said as she rolled her eyes again.

"You know what would help me to get over it? If you'd come to the activities fair with me. There's even going to be waffles."

"Oh my God. I give up, you win. I'll go to the stupid thing, you're so annoying," she muttered the last part.

"Yes!" Jesse shrieked trough the phone with an abnormally pitch high, momentarily destroying Beca's hearing on its way.

"Okay, I'm hanging up now before the woman in you decide to destroy my hearing further."

"See you soon, Beca."

The DJ could hear the smile in his voice and hung up before she lost her sanity. She rubbed her ear, making a face. Since when can a man with balls who actually went through puberty go so high with his voice?

That was the moment when a baby elephant with small brunette curls made his way down the stairs, rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes and getting accustomed to the sun light. Ethan climbed on her lap, his little hands holding tightly his toy truck –also known as "Vroom-Vroom".

"Hey, mommy."

"Hey, buddy. Slept well?"

He merely nodded as a reply. She played with her son's hair for a while, letting him slowly emerge from his 10 long hours of sleep.

"What do you want to do today, kiddo?"

"Can we go to the park?" Ethan asked, his voice still tick.

"Of course."

Barely two minutes later, Ethan nudged away from his mom to see her.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, Ethan?"

"My tummy and I is really hungry!" he said, clapping his hands on his stomach to accentuate his point.

A living stomach with legs, Beca thought with a smile. "Of course you're hungry. Come on, little monster, breakfast time."

"Yeah!" he shrieked while throwing his fist in the air with all he had before running into the kitchen.

Seeing her son so happy at the idea if eating, Beca couldn't help the grin that grew on her face as she saved her mix.

The little boy came running back to Beca a couple of seconds later, though.

"I forgotten Vroom-Vroom," he explained with a childish grin and took the toy then run back to where he came from.

The DJ shook her head. Ah, how many times had Ethan forgotten this damn toy somewhere? Beca couldn't even count any more. She had even bought a duplicate, in case Ethan would lose his and turn into a giant torrent of uncontrollable tears. Now, she merely asked him if he had his truck before going, and of course most of the time the reply was no.

Once she arrived in the kitchen, Ethan was eagerly waiting for her. The brunette boy hadn't eaten his cereal just yet, and he was already overexcited for the day ahead.

"Calm damn, baby. It's not even 10 A.M," she said, giggling.

She set the boxes of cereal on the table along with a bowl for Ethan and then took her place in front of him on the little wooden table with her warm coffee between her hands.

"Thanks you, mommy."

"You're welcome."

While looking at Ethan eat, you could easily deduce at least two fundamental things about him. One: he loved cereal, and two: unlike most four years old kids, Ethan ate properly. Not one spoonful missed its target.

Since he was born, Beca had insisted that Ethan would be polite and proper. People could accuse her of all sorts of crimes: having had a kid at too young an age, having difficulties making ends meet, raising him without a masculine presence... But they would never blame her for not teaching him good manners or not loving him. At the age of 4, Ethan could sleep without a diaper at night, he already knew how to shower by himself (Beca stayed closed though, you never know how fast an accident could happen), and he was more polite than most of the kids his age.

The brunette decided to tell her son of the plan for the day and that Meredith was coming to the park with them, that being the good news.

"This morning, mommy got a call from Jesse and he wanted to know if you would like it if Meredith -"

"YES!" Ethan yelled before he even knew what his mom was going to tell him.

"-would come to the park with us. I assume by your enthusiasm that your answer is a big yes."

The boy nodded his head vigorously, sending brunette locks waltzing through the air.

"But on one condition," Beca said as she arched an eyebrow in order to add suspense at the end of her sentence. She lowered her voice by one or two octaves. "For this, Ethan Mitchell, you must accomplish a mission of the utmost importance this afternoon. You shall go to Tyler Mitchell and his wife Sheila Mitchell, better known under their code names: grandpop and Sheila. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will involve finding Sheila's magic cookies. Thus far, there are being watched by the greedy grandpop. To defeat him and reach the cookies, you shall need to slip through his net. However, you shall be a good boy during your mission, otherwise the authorization to go to the park will self-destruct. Ethan Mitchell, do you accept this mission?"

"Why are the cookies mazicol mommy?" Ethan asked, keenness and anticipation lacing his childish voice.

She bent over and look to her right and left, like she was telling him the Earth's greatest secret.

"It seems that once you had eaten them, your pee turns blue and you fart glitters," she murmured, her voice low to add power to her words.

Ethan's mouth formed a perfect O-shape, letting escape a dramatic "OH!" with his eyes wide open, then he pinned his hands on his mouth.

Beca tried hard to not smile at the whole situation. Her son was wearing one of the most comical looks she had ever seen on him.

"Mommy, we _need_ these cookies," he said seriously.

"Do you accept your mission then?"

"I do. I promiss to be a good boy and find the hiding place."

"Good. Now eat up little man, you need energy for this afternoon."

Not thirty seconds later, the bowl was empty and Ethan got out of table to establish an action plan with Vroom-Vroom gripped tightly in his hands.

* * *

Around one o'clock the DJ and her son went to Sheila and grandpop's. Beca's parents lived just down the street, which was about a three minute walk. Two when Ethan was eager, and one when it was raining outside. When they had moved out of Virginia, she, Sheila, and her dad had accorded on the two families living close one to one another. Thus, Ethan could see his grandparents often and if an emergency came up, they were near.

"KNOCK KNOCK," yelled Ethan through the door.

"You know baby, actually knocking works better than screaming it through the door," Beca smirked while knocking.

"But where is the fun?"

Not answering, Sheila opened the door.

"Sheila!" shrieked the boy when he saw her. He hugged her before running into the house to find his granpop.

"Hey," said Beca. "Thanks again for babysitting him. I know I called at the last minute and-"

"Hush. Like it would ever bother us to keep an eye on him, you know your father and I are completely in love with him," Sheila huffed. "Nevertheless, I understood on the phone that it was to go out with a man," she added, winking.

The brunette made a face at the mention of a possibly of her and Jesse together. "That's Jesse we're talking about!"

"What? Is he not your type?"

"No. I mean, he's cute, but like puppy-cute, not sexy-cute. He's kind of okay, I guess?" Before her step-mother could go any further, Beca carried on. "Anyway, here are his spare clothes. And I told him that he had to find some enchanted cookies," she hold out a bag that Sheila took.

"Enchanted?"

"The kind that makes your pee turns blue and fart glitters."

Sheila broke into giggles. "You make him ride roughshod over us occasionally, but this one defeats them all. Did he believe that?"

"Please, he's four and I'm his mother. I could tell him that pigs fly at night and he would believe me," Beca smirked.

"I suppose I'm on cookie duty then?"

"Please," Beca said, embarrassed. If she could, she would have baked them and directly brought the cookies over, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. "Ethan has to search for them in the house and dad has to stop him from getting too close."

"Wow, what a mission you have for your father," Sheila smirked.

Glancing at her watch, Beca saw it was time for her to leave.

"Ethan, I'm going!"

The little boy brunette came quietly to his mom.

"Don't forget to behave, or else no park, okay?"

He nodded.

"Luv' you, mommy."

"I love you too. See you soon baby," said the DJ and headed for the campus, not without kissing her son's forehead of course.

* * *

To say that the campus was crowded would have been an understatement. Beca had never seen so many students all at once in her life. She spotted Jesse easily, though. He was the only guy to wave his arms like at lunatic at her.

"I can't believe I continue to associate myself with you," the brunette muttered under her breath.

Jesse placed a hand on his chest, feigning hurt. "I deeply offended by your comment, Beca."

"Please, tell me you're not planning on becoming an actor?"

"I'll take it that my theater class didn't pay off?"

"You could say that," Beca joked.

"So, which side you want to start?"

"Dude, you _forced_ me to come and you dare to ask _me_ which side I want to begin with?"

Jesse held his two hands in surrender. "Why not hit the radio-station first? You mix music, right?"

Beca nodded while Jesse guided them between people.

"I heard the manager is looking for guys to stack CDs but maybe, if you show him your mixes, he'll air them. Plus, we could work together an- Hey, isn't it Benji over here?"

"Do I look like I know who this Benji is?" answered Beca, raising her eyebrows.

"It was rhetorical, Beca. Benji is in my English class. He's a little weird but he's friendly. Follow me, I'll introduce you."

Beca turned her head to see Benji, but that's when she saw her. A tall figure with red hair walking through the crowd. Chloe. She wanted to go and talk to her; she had no idea of what to say though. The only thing she knew was that the person under the messy bun had caught her interest and she had to do something about it.

"Beca, you coming?" asked Jesse.

"Ah, go ahead. I'll see you later," she said before heading to where Chloe now stood.

Finally, after some research and sneaking between people, she reached her target. She tapped lightly on Chloe's shoulder and the red-head span around.

"Beca! Hey!" Chloe exclaimed.

"Hey."

"What are you doing here? Don't get me wrong, but you don't look like the kind of girl who likes all this socializing."

"Indeed, I don't. I only came because I was promised waffles, but now that I lost Jesse, I guess I can kiss them goodbye."

"Follow me," Chloe took her hand, dragging her into the mass of people.

Beca arched an eyebrow seeing their hands clasped together. She didn't know the ginger for long, but she already knew she had a tendency to be rather touchy. Beca was used to Ethan holding her hand but her son was four not 21 like Chloe. Did people still held hands at this age? Or was it just Chloe? Wasn't it too "couple-y"? Eventually, she stopped thinking. The DJ decided she liked her hand held, be it by Ethan or Chloe.

"Where are we going?"

Chloe throw her a smile over her shoulder. "To eat a waffle, you goof," she giggled.

"I was kidding. You don't have to buy me one."

"Believe me, you want to taste these waffles, they're to die for."

"Die? I can't do that, I've to pick Ethan after," Beca smirked.

Chloe shook her head, a smile on her lips nonetheless. She realized how much she had missed the brunette's humor during the week. Aubrey was funny, but that was just not the same. Chloe wasn't expecting to see Beca again, and it was a really nice surprise. "So much sarcasm for one tiny body."

"Like you didn't like it," the brunette replied with a confident smile.

Once they brought their waffles, the two women went to a quieter place. Spotting a tree, dotting the grass underneath because of its shadow, Chloe pulled Beca by her arm to go there. She sat down on the fresh grass, face to face to the brunette.

The ginger bitted in her waffle. "So Beca, did you see anything interesting?"

"Not really. Jesse told me about some possible job offer at the radio-station."

"Oh yeah! Luke's the manager. He's looking for people to stack CDs, but I'm sure he'll be more than thrilled to put your mixes on air if they're any good."

"What about you? What are you doing here?"

"I'm recruiting for the Bellas with Aubrey," said Chloe, pointing over her blond friend who was holding flyers.

"Bellas?"

"A-capella music. You should come to the audition, you obviously like music."

"I prefer to stay behind my mix table, sorry."

"You sure?" Chloe asked, giving her a pout.

Beca nodded. "The only person who ever manages to make me sing is Ethan."

"Lucky kid."

"Most of the time, I just sing with my guitar and he falls asleep. I think I can say my voice is far from breath-taking," the brunette shrugged.

"You can play guitar?" asked Chloe surprised.

"That's the only thing that would calm him down when I was pregnant and he wouldn't stop moving. Kept it up afterwards." Beca wasn't used to talk about Ethan or her pregnancy. Mostly because back in Virginia, she didn't have any friends to share it with. But Chloe made it so easy that the DJ didn't hesitate. She wasn't ready to say it all though. Some memories had left wounds on Beca's heart and family. Maybe if Chloe stuck around for long enough, Beca would eventually tell her.

"I can tell - you're a wonderful mother," the ginger said and placed her hand on Beca's left knee. "Your eyes shine brighter when you talk about him, it's cute."

The DJ felt herself blushing. "I do my best," she shrugged. The brunette finally dug her teeth into her waffle for the first time. She couldn't help the little cry that escaped her throat. "You weren't lying about these waffles!"

"I know, right? Talking about Ethan, where is he?"

"At my dad's. Then, we're going to the park with Jesse."

"Is Jesse your boyfriend?"

Beca made the exact same face she did when Sheila had asked her this morning.

"Seeing your face, I assume the answer in no," Chloe giggled.

"Long story short - Ethan befriended this girl at school, Meredith. Turns out she has an older brother called Jesse who is also attending to Barden University. He's really sweet, but he's just afriend. He's too... cheerful for me."

"Like I'm not too cheerful for you," Chloe smirked.

"You're different," Beca shrugged.

"That's the red hair. It makes us, red-heads irresistible," Chloe joked.

Beca laughed. "Happy to learn that my brunette hair doesn't bestow any added-value to me and oblige me to stay among the common men, you know us, the brunettes."

"Like you needed any added value," Chloe muttered so low that the DJ didn't hear her. "I like your hair. It compliments your eyes."

"Says the woman with the more stunning and bluest eyes on Earth."

"It's to compensate the ginger hair."

"I thought it made you irresistible?" Beca smirked.

Chloe shrugged. "Apparently, I smell like carrots and I'm a witch."

"If it makes you feel any better, you don't smell like carrots _that_ much."

The red head took an over-exaggerated offended look and playfully hit Beca on the shoulder. "That was mean and tots uncalled for," she said crossing her arms like a petulant child.

"Do you forgive me?"

"What do I get if I do so?"

"A reconciliation hug?" asked Beca.

Before her pregnancy, Beca wasn't much of a hugger. But Ethan had given her enough hugs in four years for her to know they both loved it. That was also a way for Ethan to apologize after he pulled a mean prank. Maybe this ruse would work with Chloe like it did with her.

The redhead pretended to think, holding her chin between her thumb and her forefinger. "Deal!" she eventually said, throwing her arms in the air and a grin from ear to ear suspended to her lips. "Come here, you big baby."

Beca would have wanted to protest against that atrocious nickname but the smile on Chloe's face dissuaded her. Instead, she hugged the red head like she had promised.

* * *

When Chloe glanced at her phone again, she saw that she had been talking with Beca for 45 minutes. Remembering that she had told Aubrey she was going to pee, she decided to rejoin the blond as fast as she could before invoking the wrath of Aubrey Posen.

"Sorry, Beca. I have to go back to the booth with Aubrey, otherwise she'll kill me."

"Oh, okay." The DJ said and stood up. She tried to not let disappointment show in her voice.

The brunette liked talking with Chloe. It was easy; she didn't have to think before talking. The redhead didn't judge her. She could be telling the thousand and one story about Ethan or making a sarcastic comment, Chloe let her talk. And best of all, the red head had her own jokes and her saucy stories. The DJ was almost sure Chloe was flirting with her sometimes, but she couldn't be sure.

Beca held out her left hand for Chloe and helped her up. She tried to take her hand back but Chloe's grip tightened so she stopped. It seemed that Beca wasn't the only one to find the handholding pleasant.

"Come with me?" asked Chloe, her voice light and as her two blue irises planted onto Beca's.

"Sure."

Chloe dragged her to the booth where a blond student was standing, most likely Aubrey.

"You know your "pee break"," Aubrey said using air quotes. "took 45 whole minutes. Even with colic, it would have taken you less time."

"'Bree!" Chloe chastised, clearly uncomfortable.

"What? Embarrassed that I talk about pee-pee and potty in front of your new friend?"

Beca was grinning stupidly. Seeing Chloe blushing made her weirdly happy. "Don't worry. Ethan's a lot worse."

"Can't we just stop talking about it? Normal people don't talk about it." The redhead turned towards Aubrey. "I'm sorry, okay? But look, I brought a hobbit back as an apology."

"Hey, I'm still there," Beca said as she knocked Chloe's arm with her elbow. She tried to be serious but the smile on her face told the exact opposite.

"Come on, you love my jokes about your shortcomings."

"No, I really don't," replied the brunette.

"Yes you do."

"I don't."

"You so do."

"No."

"Yes."

"No.

"Yes."

"No."

"Tell me you love them, and I stop calling you a hobbit."

"Argh. I love it when you call me a hobbit. Happy?"

"Very," Chloe replied with an enormous grin.

"Now, will you please stop calling me that?"

"I thought you liked it?" Chloe smirked.

"Chloe, work!" Aubrey yelled, breaking whatever bubble the two had created.

"Before you go, you think you could give me your phone number? I really liked talking with you, you're funny," Chloe asked.

"I'm not that interesting, but sure," Beca said embarrassed.

"You don't give yourself enough credit." Chloe squeezed the brunette's hand to emphasize her point.

Beca handed her phone to the redhead and Chloe gave her back a few seconds later.

"I texted myself so I've your number. Now, you'll never get rid of me."

"Talk to you soon then," Beca said and started to go, waving.

Much too soon, flyers were placed in Chloe's hand and she was distributing them along with Aubrey.

"Just hearing you two flirting made my ears bleed," said Aubrey.

"I wasn't flirting."

Aubrey's eyebrows shot up. "You weren't?"

"I was just being extra nice with someone who is extra attractive."

"Extra-attractive? Are you sure you didn't forget to put your contacts in this morning?"

"You're kidding, right? Have you seen her ass? It's like her rear is pleading for my hands to touch it. I would lo-"

"Stop! Stop right there! I don't want to hear the end of this sentence." Aubrey crinkled on nose in disgust. "Just... Keep handing out flyers."

* * *

Barely a foot into her dad's house that a little figure with crumbs and chocolate stains all around his mouth throw himself in Beca's arms.

"Mooommmmmmy!"

"Hey, little man," she replied as she span them in circles, making Ethan giggle.

"I managed to find the mazicol cookies, mommy! I'm goin' to pee blue and fart glitters!"

"Indeed, I can see that," Beca said, admiring the crumbs that littered her son's mouth.

"And I've been a really truly very good boy."

"Oh, is this big fat lie the truth?"

Her son nodded vigorously and Beca's father, Tyler, appeared in the room.

"Hey, Dad."

"Pop-pop I've been good, didn't I?"

"Of course you were, sweetie," replied Tyler.

"See mommy. I've been good, now we can go to the park with Meredith."

Ethan wouldn't stop wiggling around in her arms, so she put him down and he ran to the garden as soon as his feet touched the grown.

"You guys seriously need to stop givin' him so much sugar when he comes. He's like a dynamo afterwards."

"What can I say, he makes his puppy-dog eyes and we can't resist." He shrugged. "Sheila told me you were at the activities fair, how was it?"

"I lost Jesse, I meet Chloe again, and may have found a job at the radio station."

"A job? That's great news, Beca!" Her dad said with a smile. "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks dad. Now, we're going to head to the park."

At the mention of the park, Ethan came rushing in. "PARK!"

"Yes buddy. Tell grand-pop and Sheila goodbye."

The young boy hugged both adults then returned to his mom and took her by the hand. Barely out of the house, Ethan dragged her towards the nearest park, visibly excited to see his friend. He had seen her yesterday Beca thought with a smile

Her son was beaming and carefree here. This warmed Beca's heart. Seeing him like this, she knew she had made the right decision in moving to Barden. This town had great surprised to both of them. Never in her life had the DJ imagined making a friend in only a week, never mind two. And who knows? Maybe Jesse and Chloe carried more surprises of their own for the Mitchells.


	3. Chapter 3

On this rainy Wednesday, Ethan had no school. He had spent the morning with his grandparents while Beca had attended her courses.

Sheila had resigned from her job as a lawyer to devote herself to painting, which she did from home, and thus kept Ethan when Beca could not. Therefore, Ethan spent time with his family and it spared a big hole in Beca's economies that hadn't enough money to pay a sitter or a daycare. Despite the budgetary difficulties she had and still encountered, the DJ had always found a solution. Obviously this wasn't without some sacrifice. Beca worked every summer, collecting casual jobs and had to work during the school year. Her parents had offered to help, but Beca wasn't without her pride, she would succeed to get through it alone.

The job at the radio station had proved pretty cool. Luke, the manager, was a really nice guy and after Beca had quickly explained she had a child waiting for her at home and that it was "possible that in a possible emergency case, " she would maybe have to leave. The blond was surprised by this new information, but he had, of course, accepted. He even offered to give her more flexible schedules, which the DJ was more than delighted for. It's really not in her native Virginia attitude that people would have done anything like this for her.

This Wednesday afternoon, the little boy passed it with his mother. Since he had first seen the rain around noon, he only thought of one thing. So, once he had finished meal, he had naturally asked his mommy if they could go outside and play. To jump into the puddles, of course. For most parents, the answer would have been a flat no at the thought of all the clothes washing but Beca was not most parents.

She had armed them both of rubber boots, their K-ways, a good scarf, even a hat and gloves for Ethan. They would go outside but it was out of the question to give her son a chance of getting sick.

"On your marks, get set, go!"

Hardly were the words out of his mouth that the two figures sprang into the air and eventually fall rather ungracefully into a huge puddle, splashing them up to their knees.

"Mommy, mommy! Look at this one!"Ethan exclaimed under his cap, showing a puddle nearby, his voice lightly masked by thin rain falling around them.

"You want to jump into this one?"

"Yes!"

They set the starting position. Or at least that Ethan had designated as the starting position, which had to be translated by the I-bent-my-knees-place-my-butt-up-in-the-air-and-I-place-my-hands-on-my-sides-to-make-chicken-wings position. Sure, this position was more than strange and when people would pass by beside them, they would give them funny looks but, to see the smile on her son's lips, a mother is willing to put herself in the stupidest positions.

"On your marks, get set, go!"

Again, they sprang into the air and fell into the puddle, splashing water on all that was less than a meter from them. The brunette silently congratulated herself for having thought to wear rubber boots that came up to their knees, otherwise their pants would have been soaked.

"Mommy, can you sing the song?"

"Which one, Ethan?"

"You know, the one where the guy sings in the rain and dances," the boy asked, his eyes full of hope that his mother knows what he was talking about.

"Oh, this one!"Beca took her son's hands in hers and then sang the first notes of _Singing in the rain_.

They started to dance the middle of the street. The DJ was spinning her son from time to time, allowing her to hear his laugh with all the mischievousness that children have. While they were dancing wildly, what were only a few drops became a downpour, and at the end of the last verse the DJ decided it was time to go.

"Hey baby, a last one and then we go home."

"Why?"

"Because it's raining a lot and mommy really doesn't want to get sick."

Ethan looked at her with a worried look. "You're sick, mommy?"

"Not yet, but if we stay outside, I will and you too, Ethan."

"Okay, this is the last one. I don't want you to get sick!"Ethan replied with a determined look on his face.

The brunette shook her head, a smile on her lips and let her son took her hand, walking towards the biggest puddle.

Once properly positioned, Ethan started his count.

"On your marks, ready, s-"

The brunette felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around. She immediately recognized by Chloe with red hair. However, why she was doing here was a mystery.

Her red hair was pressed against her face because of the rain. Her lower lip shook as she tried, as much as she could, to muster a smile and her whole body was shaking like there was an earthquake. Beca studied a little more and noticed that Chloe was wearing a simple tee-shirt with shorts. No wonder why she was freezing dressed like that.

"Oh my god Chloe! What are you doing out in this outfit? "

Chloe let out a nervous laugh. "That's actually a very good question. Uh, well I had gone to the gym, and then when I left to go home, it was raining."

Beca felt a tugging on her hand and looked down to see Ethan who was firmly grasping one of her finger while hiding behind her legs.

She crouched down his level, "Hey baby, there's no need to be afraid. The lady you see here is mommy's friend, okay? "

Ethan looked at Chloe with suspicious eyes and took a step back when, without warning, the redhead crouched too.

"Hey, my name is Chloe. And yours is Ethan, right?"

The young brunette merely nodded.

"Your mommy talks a lot about you, you know? It seems that you love cereals?"Chloe asked. She remembered that Beca had told her a few days ago."My favorites are the chocolate one. What about you? "

"Mine too!"A smile as big as a watermelon appeared on his face. "You want to jump into puddles with us?"Ethan asked cheerfully.

Beca let out a small laugh."I think she's soaked enough for today buddy, don't you think? What do you say about that, you jump in the biggest puddle you find and mommy takes care of Chloe?"

"Why mommy?"

"Because otherwise, Chloe's going to be sick."

"Oh no!" the toddler replied, more dramatically than necessary.

Chloe giggled "It's not so bad buddy, I've been sick before you know."

"Come on buddy, hurry up and pick one so we can go home," said Beca while seeing Chloe's lips becoming blue.

Ethan went on his search, leaving the two women together whereas Beca opened the zipper of her coat.

"Wow, not even 5 minutes that I'm here and you're already undressing. Sounds promising," said Chloe.

"I already got you all wet, after all."Beca said with a smirk.

The redhead would be lying if she said that the remark left her cold. She was playing with fire and obviously Beca knew how to handle the flame too.

"Take this," she said handing her coat.

"We'll both be sick if you take it off, keep it," replied Chloe.

"Chloe, your lips will look close from a smurf's one if you stay like that. And I would like to spare my son the sight of someone dying from hypothermia. Now stop complaining and accept this gift. "

Chloe put the coat on and felt the heat immediately invade her."Thanks," she said sheepishly.

"You're welcome, stubborn."Beca put the hood on Chloe's head, double checking it held well by pulling on the links. She let out a laugh, "Did someone already tell you how sexy you were with a raincoat?"

"Hey, it's not my fault if it's 3 sizes too small for me."

"You said you would stop the jokes about my size," the brunette pouted.

"It's so easy to-"

"Mommy, the puddle was so HUGE. Almost as big as me," shrieked the boy, cutting Chloe mid-sentence.

"Wow! It's a diving suit I should have bought instead of boots."

"Don't be silly mommy," said Ethan giggling.

"Come on, baby. Let's go back before we get sick," said the brunette, taking him by the hand.

"You comin' with us Chloe?"Ethan asked.

"I don't want to impose. "

"There is no way in hell you're staying outside with this weather. Moreover, I had planned to do hot chocolate, but if you don't want one... "

Chloe took a moment to think before finally accepting. "Hot chocolate seems really appealing right now."

The trio walked up the street before pulling in front of a house. It was relatively small and simple, and if it wasn't for the plastic tractor toy in the front yard, Chloe would never have guessed that Beca lived here.

Hardly had the door been open that the redhead already felt the life in this house. On the left was the kitchen, with a table large enough to accommodate 4 persons. To the right was the living room, a modest couch against the wall. What struck Chloe the most was the amount of toys that were spread around the room. Beca wasn't rolling in money but Ethan, for sure, didn't lack of anything.

In front of her was a staircase leading to the first and only floor, which was probably where the bedrooms and bathroom were, thought Chloe. The redhead was also surprised by the number of pictures suspended on the walls. Ethan alone, Ethan with Beca, them with other people: always a big smile plastered on their lips.

Chloe didn't know what she expected going to Beca's, but what she saw disconcerted her.

"Ethan, you take off your clothes here in order to avoid wetting the whole house, okay?"

"You got it, mommy," he replied.

"Chloe, if you'd give me the coat so I can put it in the washing machine, I have to help Ethan to bath but then, the bathroom is yours. I'll be right back with a towel."

"Thanks," said Chloe, still analyzing the photos.

A noise roused her from her thoughts and she noticed Ethan, butt on the floor, fighting vigorously with his sweatshirt.

She laughed. "Stop wiggling, Ethan."

He followed the instructions and the redhead pulled on the sleeves, removing the cloth easily. Ethan looked at her with a big smile."Thank you."

* * *

A shower and a blanket fort in the living room later, Ethan was asleep in the said fort. Chloe, Ethan and Beca had spent a good half-hour to build the fort that now covered most of the living room area and there had moved pillows inside to be more comfortable to take a snack. A few minutes later, her son was sleeping like a rock. Turns out jumping into the puddles was a grueling activity.

The brunette had gone into the kitchen and Chloe found herself sitting on a sofa devoid of any cushions. Beca had lent her some clothes after she had taken a shower while her own clothes were in the washing machine.

"You know, it's been three weeks since we've known each other and I just realized that I have no idea what you're graduating in. What are you in?" asked the redhead from the couch.

"Computing and economy, and you?"

"Wow, I'm impressed. I'm in chemistry," said Chloe, grabbing the cup of hot chocolate the brunette gave her.

"Chemistry? I-have-to-learn-plenty-of-molecules-by-heart-as-if-my-life-was-depending-on-it chemistry? "

"Said the nerd sitting in front of me who do binary calculations. Chemistry isn't that bad. It's really fun actually."

"I think we have different definition of the word fun."

"Mind reminding who was singing loudly _I'm singing in the rain_ in the street like a lunatic and was dancing with Ethan?"

Beca scrunched her nose. "You saw that, huh?"

"It was pretty hard to miss. You were screaming at the tops of your lungs. Only the deaf would have missed it and yet, I'm sure the gestures would've caught their eyes," Chloe said, mimicking the scene she had seen, which meant waving her arms anyhow.

"Hey, I have sense of the rhythm, okay?"

The redhead raised an eyebrow.

"Just not the same as everyone else," added the brunette seriously and Chloe laughed. "It's not my fault if there isn't a single coordination between my legs and my arms."

"The worst is that Ethan is perfectly coordinated and dance very well."

"I know! I'm so jealous. My son is doing better at 4 than me at 19."

Chloe placed a hand on her knee as if to comfort her."You're not so bad, there were some rather good hip movements," the redhead added with a wink.

"And you haven't seen the rest."

The redhead shook her head, chuckling. "At least one thing is sure, your voice is beautiful."

"Thank you."

"You really should think about auditioning for the Bellas."

"Still not happening."

"I'm going to ask you until you give in, you know?"

"I'll keep your clothes in hostage," the DJ threatened.

"No problem, I'll keep the one you lent me."

"I'll take them back."

"Are you trying to see me naked, Miss Mitchell?" Chloe asked with a smile.

Beca didn't know how Chloe did it, but all her comments always ended up turning into something pervy, even through text messages. She didn't know if Chloe was like that with everyone, or just with her, though. The redhead's words made her feel things... _down there_ and she was sure that it was _not_ only friendship. Beca had always been fluid with her sexuality and had never bothered to put a label on it. However, since the birth of Ethan, the brunette's love life had been left on the side to concentrate on him.

"I totally am! How did you guess?"

"I can't blame you. Have you seen me? I'm amazing."

"Your ego's size is amazing too," joked Beca.

* * *

"And the only thing I know after that, is that Ethan's running around telling everyone, and I really mean everyone, how I made love to him,'" the DJ told.

Chloe looked surprised."He actually did that?"

"Yep. But the worst part is when he told it to his teacher."

The redhead couldn't help but laughed.

"She convened me because of it. I just drew a heart _symbolizing_ love with "I love you" written next to it. It's not my fault if Ethan translated it by "Mommy made love to me.""

Chloe only laughed harder.

"Laugh all you want, but at the time it was far from funny. I was mortified."

The redhead grabbed her hand."I'm sorry Beca, but Ethan's a really funny kid. You're going to have so much embarrassing stories to tell to his future girlfriends."

"And that's only the tip of the iceberg."Beca said, glad that her cock-and-bull story made Chloe laugh.

A little head appeared out of the castle, Ethan came up to his mom and climbed on her lap.

"Hi, buddy. Well rested?"

Ethan merely nodded before turning to Chloe."Hi," he said with a big smile, obviously happy that she was still there. Chloe had made him laugh a lot during the castle construction.

"Hi."

"You stay?"

"Your mommy promised me a hot chocolate, I couldn't leave without tasting one."

"Huh!" Ethan said suddenly. He tipped his head backward to look at Beca. "Can I have too, mommy? Pretty please?"

"Of course, baby," said the DJ and walked to the kitchen."Behave!"

Ethan wiggled to face Chloe, "Why do you have a scar there?" the boy asked, pointing to the barely apparent scar on her forehead."Did Lord Vol-de-mort do that to you? Do you have super powers like Harry Potter? "

"Ethan, be careful. You know what happens when you say his name aloud, "Beca said and gave him his bowl.

"So? Did you-know-who do this to you?"He asked, visibly excited to have an answer.

"Sorry to disappoint you but no, Ethan. When I was about your age, I thought I could fly and turns out I couldn't, hence the scar," said the redhead.

"Pfff, everyone knows that you can't fly without a cape. Right, mommy? "

"Of course," Beca said seriously.

"I have one in my room. I can lend it to you one day if you wanna fly, "said Ethan.

"Thanks Ethan, but I think I'm good. What about you, do _you_ have any scars?"

"I don't because I'm a good boy."

Beca chuckled, "You're sure about that, kiddo?"

" _I am good_... most of the time."

"That's what I thought," said Beca.

The redhead couldn't stop grinning. Watching Ethan and Beca, she could easily notice the chemistry between the two.

Finally the time came for Chloe to leave. She took back her clothes that Beca had kindly washed and looked outside by the window to see that it was still raining. The redhead let out a big sigh.

"You should take this."Beca said from behind her. She was holding an umbrella along with a coat."This you should avoid you to get too soaked."

"Thanks," said the redhead taking them.

"You're lucky. I hesitated between this umbrella and Ethan's frog-shaped one."

"Ethan has a frog-shaped umbrella?! I always dreamed of having one of those when I was a kid!"

A grin appeared on Beca's lips. "I'm sure that can be arranged if you really want it."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'll borrow this one," replied Chloe pointing to the simple and black umbrella the brunette gave her.

"Ethan, come here and say goodbye."

A small figure with brown curls joined the two women.

"You goin'?" he asked Chloe.

"Yep."

"You'll come back?"

The redhead, not knowing what to answer, looked at the DJ was nodding.

"If you want me to come back, then yes."

"Yessssss!" Ethan shrieked and threw himself on her to give her a hug, which resulted in him hugging her around the knees.

The redhead kneeled to come face to face with the boy. She noticed that Ethan's eyes were very different from Beca's. They were dark and black, it was difficult to discern his iris. However, she could easily spot the child's prankishness floating in them.

"It was a pleasure to meet you Ethan," she said, holding out her hand.

The child shook it with a jovial look. "When you come back, will you tell me new jokes?"

"Of course."

After her goodbye to Beca, Chloe left and the DJ found herself alone with her son again.

"Did you like Chloe, baby?"

"Yes, she's nice. But she's really bad at building castles, luckily we were here to teach her! "

* * *

Beca was laying her bed and just as she closed her eyes, she heard her phone vibrate. Grasping it with one hand, she saw a text message from Chloe.

_This afternoon was really cool_ _, Ethan_ _'s a cutie_ _._ _We should do this again. Chloe._

_We should_ _._ _You really made a good impression on Ethan_ _._ _Beca_ _._

_What about you? Did I make a good impression on you_ _?_ _Chloe._

_I wouldn't call a good impression a girl who shows up soaked from head to toe in mini-short. Beca_ _._

_As if you didn't wish to see what was underneath_ _;)._ _Chloe._

Beca smiled stupidly in front of the screen. This remark was so Chloe.

She sent a "Go to sleep Chloe." to the redhead before getting on her stomach to sleep. Today didn't go as planned at all and she was very happy it didn't.


	4. Chapter 4

"AN ELEPHANT ! IT'S AN ELEPHANT !" shrieked Ethan, full of life.

"No, almost !" replied his grand-father before tossing again his pen against the white board displayed presently in front of the sofa.

Tonight was game night for the Mitchells. Beca and Ethan went to her parents' place or vice versa and they spent their evening playing and laughing for Ethan greatest happiness. Tonight, the program was _Drawing is_ _winning_. For now, Sheila and Beca were calling the tune by 4 points but there was one match left for the boys to catch up.

"Oh, A WALRUS! It's a walrus!"

"Yes!" said Tyler and high-fived his grandson then pulled another animal from the pile of cards. He began to draw but the child seemed to have trouble guessing.

"Dad, is that even an animal?" scoffed Beca.

"Shhh, you're gonna make us lose with your remarks."

"A DONKEY!" Ethan said.

Tyler gave him a puzzled look. "No! That's not it at all. "

Beca's father kept on moving his pencil, but the boy was still not finding.

"Tick, tock, tick, tock ..." said Sheila swinging her head from left to right.

"Objection! You're distracting my teammate," Tyler replied, accusing her with the pencil.

"Okay, okay, I stop. Go back to your… artwork. »

"Hey, it's abstract art Madam the painter," replied Tyler, imitating a high-class accent.

"Woo, that explains everything," joked Sheila.

"Grandpa, we're losing time!" cried Ethan, anxious to win.

"Right, buddy."

He went back to draw but before the child could find, the time allotted to them had expired.

"STOP!" cried the DJ who was the master of time.

"Ugh, I say we should have more time," Tyler complained, rather grumpily.

"I thought Ethan was the child here," said Sheila and kissed him.

"Hey, there is a child in this room," Beca pointed out and hid her son's eyes.

Sheila glanced at them. "Just because you don't like the fact that your father and I are kissing doesn't mean we're going to stop anytime soon. »

The DJ made a face. Watching her father and Sheila kissing was far from her idea of the most… charming view. Despite the faces that the brunette was doing, she was silently happy to see her father and the blonde so romantic and affectionate towards each other. She hoped that one day, she'd find someone who would look at her with such wonder.

The family reckoned up the points and the boys were declared losers by 2 points.

"Yessss!" exclaimed Beca and gave a high-five to Sheila.

"You cheated. Sheila draws too well, "said Ethan, angry and pouting.

"It was you who chose boys against girls. You'll team up with Sheila next time, little man. »

"Mmmmokay ..." replied her son.

The brunette gave him a kiss on the forehead and then started to tidy up with the help of her parents.

"Dad ?"

"Yes, Beca?" Tyler asked, looking at his daughter.

"Have you ever heard of the Barden Bella? »

"It"s an a cappella group, right? »

Beca merely nodded her head in acknowledgment.

"I think the girls went to the National last year but they lost. Why this question ? »

"You remember Chloe? »

"The one Ethan won't shut up about? »

"Yeah, that one. She asked me to come to the auditions, but I don't know. Ethan, radio, work, au- "

"You should go Beca! That would be awesome. »

"You think so? »

"Honey, since Ethan's birth, you always hanging out with your old parents and your son-"

"You're not old. You're... in the prime of life. »

"Thank you, Becs. I feel suddenly much younger," Tyler joked.

Beca hit him playfully on the chest. "I was trying to make a compliment for once."

"Getting back to the topic in hand, your only TV programs are Disney movies or Pixar ones. It'd be a good opportunity to go out and you hang with people your age. »

"It's just ... he grows so fast and with school, work, I don't see him as much as I used to. I don't want to miss something, you know?" asked the brunette.

"I know, sweetie. And you won't miss anything. You're a mom, but you're also only 19. You have a lot of responsibility for such a young girl, but you need to stop and breath sometimes. Take a deep breath of fresh air in and go out into the big wide world. Ethan will continue to grow perfectly fine, I promise."

The look of the brunette fell on her son who was quietly playing with his action man.

"I wish he could be 4 for ever, small, cute and all cuddly," Beca confessed as she engulfed her father into a hug.

"I know, sweetie. I know. »

"What? Beca's willingly giving a hug and I'm not invited?" exclaimed a female voice behind them.

The brunette chuckled before opening an arm so Sheila could join in.

"What about me, mommy?" Ethan asked.

"Come here, baby," the DJ bent over to pick him up and placed in between the three adults.

"Giant Hug!" laughed the toddler and then let out a huge yawn.

"I think it's time to sleep."

"But mommy, I'm not tired," replied Ethan and yawned again.

"Really? That's not what this yawn tells me."

"I maybe a little tired," Ethan made a small space with his thumb and forefinger. "Can grandpa read me a story tonight ?"

"Sure buddy."

The little boy kissed his mommy's cheek as well as his grandmother's and Tyler took him in his arms and went into his room, leaving Sheila and Beca alone.

"So Beca, how's college going ?"

"Pretty good so far. Appart the fact that Fat and Furious hates my guts, it's doing pretty well. »

"Fat and Furious?" Sheila couldn't help but smirked at the nickname.

"M. Harmon," translated Beca. "The teacher whom I had arrived late at the first class. Every time he looks at me, I can see the daggers in his eyes piercing me, I think he hasn't forgiven me yet."

"Your father always said Harmon was only an old fossil whom college gave a few courses to keep busy his long afternoons before his retirement."

Beca felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and pulled it out to see a new message from Chloe.

_Hey, I_ _hope I'm not disturbing you._ _In case_ _you're interested_ _, the auditions_ _for_ _the_ _Bellas_ _are held_ _Saturday morning at_ _the auditorium._ _It_ _'_ _d be good_ _to see_ _a pretty face. :)_ _Chloe._

_I'm not sure_ _Chloe._ _It lacks_ _a little persuasion..._ _Beca_ _._

_Seeing me_ _isn't_ _a good_ _reason enough for_ _you to come_ _?_ _Chloe_ _._

Beca thought about what her father had said to her a few minutes ago. After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

_Touché_ _._ _What time?_ _Beca_ _._

_YES!_ _I knew that_ _I would be able_ _to make you come one way or another._ _9_ _-11 a.m_ _._ _Chloe._

_Full of yourself, as usual I see_ _._ _Beca._

_One text_ _was enough to_ _make you_ _bring_ _your pretty_ _little_ _butt_ _here,_ _on a Saturday morning_ _might I_ _add_ _._ _I think_ _I can afford_ _to be full of myself. ;) Chloe_

_Did_ _you just_ _admit that_ _you've been checking out my_ _rear_ _?_ _Beca_ _._

The brunette felt her phone vibrate again and was about to reply when a hand appeared on the screen, blocking any possibility of action. She looked up to see her father.

"Told you it'd work," said Tyler to Sheila. "Ethan just passed out."

"Thanks dad."

"You're welcome, baby." He placed a kiss on her forehead. "It's time for Sheila and I to leave. We're not getting any younger so we can't party until dawn like you. 10 p.m max."

"Again with your old age dad."

After her parents' departure, the DJ took a shower and decided to go to bed. She was almost sure that Ethan would wake up before her tomorrow and would come up to wake her up. She turned out the light on the bedside table and looked at the time on her cell phone. The still unread message Chloe flashed on the screen, so she opened it.

_For_ _me to know_ _and_ _you_ _to find out_ _._ _Chloe._

* * *

_Saturday morning_ _after the auditions..._

"Beca!" exclaimed Jesse coming out of the building.

"Hey Jesse."

"Pretty great audition you did back in here. I didn't know you could do stuff like that. Hats off to you."

"Thanks, your audition wasn't bad either," complimented Beca.

"I can't even compete with you."

"You're kidding, right? If the face Aubrey was anything to go by, you'd be a God and me, some error that should've never come."

"Aubrey?"

"The blonde next to Chloe. I think she have a grudge against me," said Beca smiling.

"What have you done to her ?" said the boy.

Beca raised an eyebrow and pretended to act shocked. "Why is it always my fault? I've done nothing wrong!"

"Not yet," Jesse joked.

The DJ knocked him gently on the arm. "Your sister's so much funnier than you."

"Speaking of Mer, you and Ethan want to go to the theater this afternoon with us? »

"Sorry, we can't. I already have plans with Chloe and Ethan will probably want to look at Finding Nemo for 1 583rd time."

"Okay, buddy. See you tomorrow then. 3 p.m at the park? »

"Sure thing, Jesse. See you tomorrow. »

" And Beca? Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, what do we do? We swimmmmmm! " Jesse sang, knowing exactly which string to pull to annoy the brunette.

It didn't fail and the DJ hit him with her fists, rather unforcefully. "I hate you!" she said, but the smile on her lips was saying another story.

"See you tomorrow," taunted the tall brunette.

He imitated a fish with his mouth and then run away before Beca could slap him again. The brunette walked away when she heard footsteps running towards her. Hardly had she been returned, the DJ was being strangled by a redheaded mass' arms that she now associated with Chloe. Beca was somewhat taken aback by the situation but hugged her back, not that Chloe really left her any other choice.

"I thought you wouldn't show up!" Chloe said, finally letting go of the hold she had on the brunette.

"Sorry for the delay. Ethan refused to put his shoes on."

"Don't worry, the important thing is that you came. Aubrey on the other hand was less of a fan," replied the redhead grinning.

"Indeed, Grumpy didn't look too cheerful to see me."

Chloe knocked her shoulder. "She's not always like that. Give her some time and you'll see that she can be very nice when she wants to."

Beca looked dubiously at Chloe. "Mmmmokay. I trust you on this one, Chloe."

The redhead took the DJ by the arm and began to walk along the campus. Beca had little experience with silent walks because Ethan always seemed to have a comment to make about the grass or the leaves. It wasn't bad ... just different. Although Ethan was a quiet child, he was a real chatterbox. The only times when he didn't speak were when he was asleep.

"What are you thinking about ?" Chloe asked.

"If someone had told me five years ago I'd get pregnant and my life would be what is was today, I'd have had a good laugh at them."

The redhead stopped abruptly and turned around, just in front of Beca. She grabbed the brunette's hands and looked into the dark blue eyes. "You're a wonderful mother. I haven't spent much time with you two, but the complicity and love that there is between you is amazing. When you talked about Ethan, you're glowing happiness; it's at the limit of surreal. Do _not_ underestimate yourself." Chloe placed a kiss on her right cheek.

Beca bowed her head in humility. "I'm not used to compliments. Thanks."

Chloe gave her a big smile. "You better get used to it then," she said before walking along the path again. "I plan to give you plenty, starting with your pretty little butt," she added with a wink.

* * *

"Mommy! Hurry up, you're going to miss the start!" Ethan yelled from the living room to his mother who was in the kitchen, heating up the popcorn.

"Coming!" She yelled back. "It's not like I was missing something I've never seen before," she said to herself.

"Need help?" asked a voice out of nowhere and scared the DJ.

She turned and saw Chloe. "What the hell! I nearly had a heart attack."

"I didn't know I had that _much_ effect on you."

Beca merely shook her head, a smile on her lips nonetheless. "I'm sorry to make you suffer through Finding Nemo. If you don't want to watch it, you can see with Ethan to change it. He has already seen it hundreds of times, I'm sure he'll understand. There are plenty of other Disneys. Sure, Nemo's his favorite but it's not a reason to watch this one every fucking single time, right? I don't even understand how he does it. He knows the replicas by heart, all the jokes but he still insists to watch it. And you shouldn't be forced into this movie. You know what? If you don't want to, you just tell me and I w- "

Chloe put a hand on the the DJ's mouth, cutting short the discussion she was living with herself. Although watching her going around in circles was cute, a time came when the monologue had to end. "Beca, you're rambling."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. And I'd love to watch Nemo for the umpteenth time."

"Really?" asked the brunette.

"Really. "

"God thank you. If I'm being honest, I can't imagine asking Ethan to remove this movie. It'd have gone horribly wrong, " sighed the DJ happily.

"You're so cute," said Chloe and placed a kiss on the cheek Beca.

"Go into the living room, I'll be out with the popcorn in a sec," replied the DJ.

"Yes, sir!" Chloe said, making the Salvation Army sign and walked out.

Once the popcorn ready,the DJ joined them in the living room. Her son was sitting on the floor on a pillows and blankets rain while the redhead was on the couch, tapping the empty seat next to her. The brunette sat down and instinctively pulled the redhead to hug her as she used to do with her son. The redhead, who wasn't against it, let her do it and enjoyed the special moment her right temple shared with the the DJ's rib cage.

Ethan was watching the movie, mechanically repeating the replicas one after another and laughing at the jokes with as much enthusiasm as the first time he had heard them. Half into the film, the boy found himself short of popcorn and turned to his mother to ask her more.

"Mommy?" Ethan asked in a small voice.

"She's sleeping, little man," Chloe whispered to not wake Beca up. "What do you want?"

"I wanted more popcorn ..." said the curly-haired brunette sadly.

"At this hour? I'm not sure that your mommy would give you so much sugar this late."

"But I'm hungry," said Ethan making small eyes and grimaced, bringing out his lower lip. "I'm sure mommy would let me!"

"Put this lip back where it belongs Ethan," Beca replied, barely awake from her nap. "And don't try to bribe Chloe, you know very well that you have the right to one bowl of popcorn."

"But mommmmmmmy ..."

"Huh huh, no buts. You know the rules, baby."

"Mmmmokay," the little boy turned and kept on watching the movie, not really troubled by the fact he didn't get what he wanted.

The DJ turned to the redhead. "Sorry, he has a tendency to try to get what he wants if-"

"Don't apologize. He's still a child, it's normal that he seeks his limits," replied Chloe. "I was just taken aback. Now I know what to say next time," she added with a smile.

Beca couldn't help but smile in return, it was contagious.

"So, you're very sweet when you sleep, but you have a slight tendency to get handsy."

The brunette gave her a look between surprise, shock and incomprehension.

"My shirt, Beca."

Beca looked at her hands and saw that one of them was firmly holding the cloth between her fingers, not allowing the redhead to move at her will.

"Oh, sorry," she said, releasing the shirt.

"It's fine. As long as you're not drooling on me."

"Oh, but who said I won't?" said the DJ, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Ouh," Chloe stepped back on the couch so Beca was at arm-length.

"I promise I won't drool. You can come back," said Beca to the redhead and resumed to their position.

Once Finding Nemo was done, so about 45 long agonizing minutes during which Beca had to avoid falling back asleep, it was finally time for Ethan to go to bed.

"Go brush your teeth, dude. I'll be right there," asked Beca to her son. She turned to the redhead. "You want to stay the night? It's rather late."

Chloe looked at the time on her phone. "Late? At 9.30?"

"I live to Ethan's rhythm since 4 years now. To me 9.30 is late," explained Beca. "I don't have a spare bedroom though, so you'll sleep in my bed, I'll take the couch."

"Don't be silly, I'm not going to put you out of your own bed. We can share, it'll be a kind of PJ party," replied Chloe with a big smile.

"You sure?"

"As long as you don't do inappropriate things with your wandering hands."

"Oh, so I can make _appropriate_ things with my wandering hands? Interesting," replied Beca with a smirk.

Not even 5 minutes later, Ethan was walking down the staircase steps. In his right hand, he held his blanket while he had a thumb in his mouth. He approached his mother and went up on the couch, a big smile on his lips.

"Mommy, can Chloe sing with us tonight?"

"Singing ?"

Ethan shook his head vigorously. "Yup, mommy sings and she said you sing too. If you both sing, I'm sure I'll be asleep twice as fast."

The redhead nodded her head at Beca.

"Then we're following you, baby."

Ethan grabbed Chloe by the hand and led them to his room. It was relatively small and simple: a bed, a small table and a few toys here and there. On the walls, Chloe could see small phosphorescent stars. The boy climbed under the covers, putting himself on his stomach to be ready to fall asleep at any time.

Beca loved the evenings when Ethan asked her to sing. Not that she didn't like stories, but during those brief moments, she shared her passion with her son and he always seemed to sleep better.

"Come and sit here," indicated the brunette, pointing the spot next to her on the bed with her guitar.

"Any complain baby, or you want to let Chloe decide?"

"Chloe decides," grumbled the brunette in his pillow.

"Chloe?"

"Uh ... What do you usually sing?"

"Nothing too fancy otherwise Mister here can't sleep and turns into a real dynamo."

"Okay." Chloe thought before finding a fairly quiet song for Ethan and which Beca probably knew the notes. "Payphone by Maroon 5?"

"No problem," replied the brunette. She began to slowly stroke the strings of her guitar and sing.

At the end of the first verse, Chloe joined in and Beca was surprised by her voice. Right and a little edgy at time. Typically Chloe. She had very good vocals and the brunette self-noted to ask her if she could borrow it later for her mixes. Arrived at the end, Beca kissed her son's forehead, whispering a "I love you" and then left quietly the room with Chloe.

"I still can't believe how beautiful your voice is!" Chloe whispered excitedly.

"Yours not bad either," said the DJ settling on the couch. Chloe yawned, maybe her voice really held soporific powers after all. "Come on, Chlo'. I think it is time for you to go to sleep," Beca took her by the hand to her bedroom.

"Chlo? So our relationship's already to the nicknames base?"

"Of course pumpkin," replied the brunette, her voice laced with sarcasm. She handed her a tee-shirt along with leggings. "Bathroom is last door on the left."

"Thank Becs," she replied.

Beca took this opportunity to change as well and slide under the covers while closing her eyes. Almost in the arms of Morpheus, she felt the bed dig under Chloe's weight and her smell filled Beca's nose as she moved closer.

"Becs, you asleep?"

"No, I'm training to die," joked Beca then opened her eyes to see Chloe's face of surprisingly close to hers.

"Where is the switch to turn down the sarcasm?"

"You mean the switch to stop my irresistible sense of humor?" asked the brunette with a smirk.

Chloe laughed and then they fell in silence, far from uncomfortable. Playing with the redhead's hands, Beca wondered what was going on in her head. She could clearly read the deep in reflection look Chloe was sporting.

"How was it?" Chloe finally asked.

"How was what?"

"Having Ethan, how was it?"

The brunette rolled onto her back and let out a long sigh. She had never really shared her past about Ethan. Of course, it didn't bother to talk about it. It was just very strange to be asked about her past. Very strange that someone was interested in her. This feeling was foreign to the brunette. Not unpleasant, though. From where she came from, no one had ever really taken interest in her after Ethan's birth. The brunette had never really made any effort either to communicate with others and maybe it was better this way. Ethan, Tyler and Sheila were enough for her. Chloe was by far the best friend the brunette had ever had. Sure, the two women didn't knew each other for a long time but Chloe had kind of a gift to read her. She knew how to make her smile, make her laugh, and she knew how to make Beca speak without her feeling compelled to open up. Beca felt that little I-don't-know-what between them that made her stomach felt strange things inside.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked, it was totally inappropriate," the redhead said in a small voice.

"It's not. It's just that I ..." the DJ searched the right words. "I've never really share this story with everyone so I really don't know where to start."

Chloe grabbed her right hand and tangled their fingers. "Begin at the beginning?" she asked in a soft voice.


	5. Chapter 5

Beca was looking at their interlaced fingers and took her time before opening her mouth. Which way to start? What could she tell and what part did she leave out? How much was she ready to share? How much did she _want_ to share? So many questions that were swirling in her head and most of which the DJ had no time to find the answers.

Suddenly, she got an idea and stood up.

"Where are you going?" asked Chloe, surprised by the quick move.

"I'm just going to get some stuff, I'm coming back right away."

Chloe let herself melt comfortably on Beca's bed. It smelled something between vanilla and childhood, a smell that would only invade her nostrils when she had the brunette in her arms.

As she let herself deliciously sink deeper in the mattress for the first time, she eventually took time to glance at the DJ's room. Like any other room of the house, it was pretty simple and bare. The only thing that made it unusual was the electronic equipment on the desk, which was without a doubt the most expensive thing that Beca owned. Looking at the turn tables, she self-noted to ask Beca about her mixes later. On the nightstand was a picture of the brunette. Chloe grabbed it carefully between her fingers to have a better look. The brunette was in a hospital bed, a baby in her arms. The bags under her eyes bore witness of her tired state but the smile on her face… wow. The redhead had never seen Beca smiled that big and that true.

"The most terrifying day of my life," said Beca softly, seeing Chloe absorbed by the picture.

The brunette put the box she had in her hands at foot of the bed and sat next to the ginger.

"I still remember it like it was yesterday…"

* * *

_Beca was on the couch, next to her father Tyler, they were taking their breakfast together. Since yesterday, Little Human wouldn't stop moving, therefore it had been a rather short night for the DJ. Usually, she would put some music on and it would calm down but it wasn't really cooperative these last few days. The brunette was about to take another sip when she felt a warm liquid spread on her inner thighs and bottom PJ. She was so socked she dropped her cup, spilling coffee all over the couch._

" _Come on Beca, we can't manage to hold a cup in our hands anymore? Thank God it wasn't my granddaughter!" Tyler joked._

_Beca had chosen to keep the baby's sex a surprise, but her father had somehow convinced himself it was a girl. Sheila and him had even a bet going on. The blond was thinking it was a boy because "_ _sharp_ _belly, little hole, round belly_ _, little pole" and apparently Beca's belly was round._

_Beca didn't laugh along with her father though, her look stuck on her now wet bottom PJ._

" _Beca," the DJ looked up and saw her dad giving her a mega watt smile. "I think you just broke your water, sweetheart!"_

_A panic storm started to raise trough Beca, sending shivers all over its path. The baby wasn't supposed to arrive before at least 2 others weeks, she couldn't have the baby now. The baby wasn't ready._ _**She** _ _wasn't ready._

_« But, I-I'm not ready dad! Little Hu-Human's supposed to arrive in 2 weeks. It's too soon, dad! It isn't ready._ _**We** _ _'re not ready, its room isn't even painted yet! It can_ _**not** _ _be happening right now! Oh my God, what if it was a problem? What if Little Human is coming right now because there's a problem? Dad, I-"_

_Tyler put a hand on his daughter's mouth to shut her up and took her in his arms as well as he could due to her pregnant belly. "Hey, calm down baby," he whispered in her ear. "Everything's going to be alright. Sheila and I are here for you, okay? We're going to take every step with you. But you have to calm down, otherwise you're going to stress Little Human and we don't want Little Human to be stressed before she's even out, do we now?"_

_Beca just shook her head._

" _Shhhhh, breath sweetheart. Everything's going to be great, I promise."_

_After reassuring his daughter, Tyler ran to Beca's room to grab the bag. Inside, onesies, clothes for her, fluffy toys… all the things needed for the baby and herself once at the maternity._

* * *

"Dad still calls this morning 'the day Little Human decided to ruin my couch,'" added Beca laughing, grinning from ear to ear as she told her story.

Chloe looked at her with all the attention of the world. She didn't dare to interrupt her, afraid that the glitters adorning Beca's blue irises as the stars in the night would disappeared. The DJ put the photo back on her nightstand and opened the box she had stored at the end of the bed. Inside were photo albums, 2 or 3 tops.

She grabbed the first and handed it to Chloe. She took it with great care, the sentimental value behind this simple object was priceless and Chloe refused to be the one that would damage it accidentally.

The album was filled with photo of Beca's pregnancy. At first, her pregnancy belly barely visible but as photos passed, Chloe could see the evolution to end as what the redhead would qualified a relatively small belly for a 9 months pregnant woman. Sometimes Beca was sporting with big smile, sometimes she seemed about to puke, and sometimes just extremely tired, as evidenced by the dark circles.

In one corner, the redhead noticed a picture of a young teenager. He looked about 15 tops. Despite his obvious youth, Chloe had to admit he was pretty charismatic. A smile that would shatter more than one girl's heart, short brown hair, a discreet nose and a thin face. Seeing his eyes, darks like Ethan's, she easily guessed who this man was. However, she didn't press Beca, fearing of going into an intimacy that the DJ wasn't ready to share.

"This is Noah," said Beca, pointing the photo with a look of nostalgia.

"He has his eyes," whispered Chloe.

* * *

_Beca and Noah were dating for 5 months. They had met each other at the local pool and Noah had immediately charmed Beca, he had a natural talent to captivate people with his words. Beca's heart didn't last long before being conquered by Noah. The boy was sweet, caring, kind, always put Beca first ... The list of things he made Beca feel was exhaustive. But most important, Beca felt safe with him. Noah was the first big love of her little life. The only boy she had ever dated and the only one that had ever counted in her love life since Ethan's birth. Five months into their relationship and they both felt ready to take it to the next step._

_Sex._

_Beca and Noah had both decided to lose their virginity to each other. And what a fantastic night they had this Saturday night. Sure, at first hands were a little shaky and drew uncertain gestures, but as the evening passed, touches became more carrying tracing their paths with confidence. Noah was attentive and gentle with Beca and they were more than satisfied with their respective first times._

_But one month after this, Beca was surprised to see that her period weren't in time which was weird since she was on the pill. Of course, the idea of being pregnant crossed her mind. Noah and she didn't use a condom, why would they when there were both virgins, disease-free and the DJ was on the pill? As quickly the idea appeared, it disappeared in the depths of Beca's spirit._

_However, two weeks later, when the brunette's head was in the toilet bowl, the idea resurfaced. Hardly had her stomach emptied, she flushed, brushed her teeth and rushed to the nearest pharmacy. She took 6 pregnancy tests that day, paying them shyly and shamefully under the cashier's judgmental look. Unfortunately for the young Beca, she had 6 positive results. Beca couldn't help growling at the edge of the sink. The only test of her life she wanted at all costs to fail, she succeeded it with flying colors. What a sweet irony._

_Claiming gastroenteritis, Sheila advised her to stay in bed and rest rather than going to school. Beca couldn't complain, it gave her time to think. There were such things as false positive sometimes, right? But 6 false positives in a row? No way she wasn't pregnant, was it? Finally, after brain-storming to see what she would do with this... 'thing' that might be growing inside of her womb, she made an appointment with her doctor._

_Hardly had she hung up the phone that Sheila entered her bedroom, a determinate look written on her face. She sat on the bed and took a brunette's hand in hers._

_"Beca, I think you and I could use a talk," said Sheila in a delicate voice, devoid of verbal aggression and anger that Beca expected if Sheila really knew what was up with her._

_"About what?" Beca feigned innocence._

_"I think you know exactly what I want to talk Beca."_

_"No idea."_

_"I'm talking about the 6 positive pregnancy tests I found in the bathroom."_

* * *

"My father married Sheila when I was 11 years old. Before my pregnancy, we weren't really close but as soon as she knew, she did everything she could in order to help me. She explained me the different options I had, she came with me to the first ultrasound, she helped me to tell my father, she made sure that I took my vitamins, ate healthily, slept enough ... She held my hand at each step."

"And Noah?" asked the redhead.

Beca looked at Chloe's eyes, searching for curiosity but the only thing she found was care. The ginger was asking this question because she cared about Beca's past and not because it was some juicy story. That thought made Beca's stomach flutter.

* * *

_"You told me you were on the pill!" Noah accused._

_"I'm on the pill! I… was the pill, Noah! I haven't lied to you. But ... That stuff, it doesn't work in 100% of the cases, and apparently my life isn't crappy enough like that without me having a baby at 15."_

_"You really are pregnant then?" Noah asked gently, grabbing Beca's hands in his. "What are you gonna do?"_

_"I have no fuckin' idea."_

_"Look, Becs. We're just 15, we can't be parents._ _**I'** _ _m not ready to be a father."_

_"I know, I know. But every time I see this damn abortion clinic in my head, I imagine this little human being inside on me who didn't ask for anything, it's not fair…." the tears flowed down the brunette's cheeks and Noah pushed them away with the pad of his thumbs._

_"I can't be a father Beca. I'm not ready for all these responsibilities, but I love you, you know that. No matter what you decide, that you keep it or not, I'll be with you though, okay? But once it's born, if it ever see the light of day, I can't be the parent," said the young boy and placed a kiss on her forehead._

_Beca collapsed in tears in her boyfriend's arms that night, crying herself into a dreamless sleep._

* * *

"Noah was really great. I mean, after this event, we weren't really together anymore, but he called regularly to ask how I was, if everything was okay with the baby... That sort of things. "

"He sounds really great," said Chloe, really taken aback by the boy's maturity who had stuck around where so many others would have run away.

Seeing the brunette's eyes shone with unshed tears, Chloe took her tenderly in her arms as not to frighten her and kissed her temple.

"We don't talk anymore. After the birth of Ethan, we officially broke up. I had my baby on my side, I was in good health, and he was a teenager again without any responsibility. He kept his promise: he looked after me until Ethan's birth," confessed the brunette and let herself fall deeper into the redhead's embrace.

Feeling the tears burning her eyes, she violently wiped them with the back of her hands. She hated crying in front of others, the only people who ever had that privilege could be counted on the fingers of one hand. "Sorry, I must look ridiculous crying like a baby. I didn't think that all this sha-"

Chloe put a finger on her lips to silence her. "Don't you ever apologize for crying. Everyone is entitled to have feelings, okay?" proving her point by kissing Beca's forehead.

The DJ just nodded and played with the redhead's fingers, contemplating how this simple contact comforted her. After some minutes of silence, she added, "I almost had an abortion, you know?"

* * *

_Beca and her stepmother had just came back from the doctor. Unfortunately for the DJ, her suspicions were right and she was indeed pregnant._

_"I'm not saying I won't allow you to do it Beca, I just want you to think about it some more. Abortion is not a decision to be taken lightly."_

_"Why wait? I can't be pregnant Sheila. What would I say to Noah? What about Dad? And the baby? I'm_ _**15** _ _years old, this kid would be miserable with me._ _**I** _ _would have nothing to offer it beside a sad pathetic life. Abortion is the only thing I have left."_

_"Beca, abortion isn't the only option you have, okay? You also have_ _anonymity in childbirth_ _, adoption... I don't want you to take this decision on a whim. You're going to rest tonight, and we'll talk tomorrow when your mind will be clearer. And if abortion is still what you choose, I'll go with you, okay?"_

_At this point, the brunette was crying. Sheila would never replace her mother, but the blond had managed to find a place in her heart and took a somewhat mother figure for the DJ. Seeing the tears running down porcelain cheeks, Sheila took her in her arms until Beca had calm down._

_"I'm pregnant for only a month and half and I'm already a walking hormones ball. I already hate this," said Beca, rolling her eyes to her own attitude._

_"Ah, the great joys of pregnancy," Sheila replied laughing._

_The next day, as soon as her father had crossed the threshold of the front door, the blond knocked on Beca's room door._

_"I want an abortion," said Beca in a certain voice._

" _Why?" asked Sheila._

_"I need a justification?" asked the brunette, raising an eyebrow._

_"Yes," Sheila sat on the bed next to her stepdaughter. "Listen, I want to be sure you don't do it for some stupid reason, Beca. Something like 'I'll be unable to take care of it' or 'this kid would have a miserable life because I'm sure I'd be a miserable mother.'"_

_"But it's the truth! I'd be the worst mother in the whole world. And I don't see a kid fit into my future, honestly. I'm still in school, currently failing, I have no time for a baby. And I have no job Sheila, who's going to pay for all the stuff that the baby will need? And what people will think when they'll see me? Everyone will think I'm a fucking whor-"_

_"STOP!" Sheila cried. "Stop right there. You're so much more than that Beca, you worth so much more than all of that." The blond took the brunette's hands in hers. "First, you're not failing in school, you and I both know that if you would at least do your homework, you'd have way better grades than those snotty stupid kids."_

_On that point, Beca couldn't really argue. If she worked, her grades would follow._

_Sheila continued, "Second thing, you never have time for a child Becs, but you take it because no matter how late you are, no matter how tired you are, no matter if you haven't eaten since breakfast, when you're a parent, you take the time because nothing worth your child smiling at you. And finally, of course you don't have a job Beca, you're still in school! But you worked last summer, right? You can also work this summer. And you set aside a little money, right? Also scholarships, Beca. I know it's never huge sums, but they can help you. And your father and I could you offer-"_

_"No way Dad or you-" interrupted the DJ before being interrupted herself._

_"I know you don't like the idea Beca, but you know your father and I would do anything for you, right? We could figure something out. And last but not the least, you're great Beca. No matter what people think of you, you_ _**will** _ _remain great. People judge a book by its cover, never throwing a glance at the synopsis. Fuck them, it's their loss. They think they see some crappy book but they're missing a wonderful Harry Potter."_

_"Did you really just compare me to a book?" Beca asked with a smirk._

_"Your past fills the first pages of your own book Beca, the next ones are still blank. What I told you is true, Beca. I'm not telling you to give up the idea of abortion, I just want you to think about it in depth. If eventually, it's still what you want to do, I'll be there for you, okay? When a page is written, you can't erase it and I don't want you to spend your life rereading it constantly asking yourself 'what if?'"_

* * *

"Finally I decided to keep it. If Sheila hadn't been there, God knows what shitty thing I'd have made," Beca added the last part with a small smile. "She's the best mother in law that I could have ever ask for. Don't tell her I told you that though, otherwise she'll get big headed," joked Beca.

After so many emotions, Chloe felt like it was time for happier stories. She placed a kiss in the dark hair in front of her without thinking. After the roller coaster of emotions that the DJ had just crossed, Chloe wanted to comfort her, although she knew Beca was strong enough to overcome all of this easily. If only the redhead knew these touches only pushed Beca's heart closer and closer to the border between love and friendship every time.

"What's the story behind this one?"Chloe asked softly, pointing to a picture on the album.

Eventually, the two women spent their evenings like this, Chloe asked questions, asking the story behind a particular picture. The brunette had rarely felt so at ease and so open outside of her family. Not that she was ashamed to talk about Ethan but no one had never really asked her to speak so openly about her past. Sure, she could talk openly with her family, but Tyler and Sheila already knew all that had happened.

As the evening passed, Beca saw the ginger's face going from astonishment to surprise passing by derision. Chloe was very expressive with her face, and the DJ liked the way her eyebrows muscles would contract when she was frowning, or the way her cheeks went up when she smiled. But what Beca had the most trouble tearing her eyes off were Chloe's eyes. Rarely had she seen eyes so pale blue. Drowning herself in them, she noticed a light coat on her irises.

"You wear contacts?" asked the DJ, out of the blue.

Chloe just nodded.

"How blind are you?"

"Without correction, I can't walk down the street without getting into at least 3 poles."

"Shouldn't you remove your contacts to sleep?"

"Usually, I just put my glasses on at night and I put my contacts in the aseptic lotion, but since I don't have it with me, I'll keep them on tonight."

"You have glasses? I want to see that! You must look so cute with them!"

"Hey, not cute. I look like a real bad-ass with my glasses, okay?"

"Please, everybody knows that I'm the bad-ass one in this friendship."

"Yeah? And what am I then in this friendship Ms. Self-proclaimed bad-ass?"

"The king always needs a jester at his side, doesn't he?" replied the brunette with a smirk.

Chloe made her big googly eyes and shoved Beca on the shoulder. "Oh my God! You're so mean to me!"

"Come on, Chlo', I was kidding," asked Beca.

"It'll take more than that Mitchell if you want to be forgiven."

"Name the price."

"Mmmm ... I want ..." Chloe took her time to think while Beca fixed the album and put the box under the bed.

The brunette slipped under the covers and noticed the redhead following her every movements but remaining unanswered.

"Wow, it takes you a horribly long time to answer, are you sure you have all your toys in the attic?" smirked the DJ, gently tapping the ginger's left temple.

"You know, for someone who has a child and watched an impressive number of Disney's, you're pretty bitter for someone who's only 19," replied Chloe sulking.

The redhead dove into the bed, joining Beca under the warm blankets. Barely was she lengthened, a pair of arms attacked her midsection.

"Please forgive me."

"Or?"Chloe asked defiantly, looking Beca in the eyes.

Before the DJ could even notice, she was lost in the irises in front of her.

"Or I won't let you go and you will be forced to suffer this hug for the rest of your life," replied the brunette, flashing her a big smile before tightening her grip.

"That's very _bad-ass_ of you to threaten me with hugs," Chloe said, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay ... What about that: I'm sorry I called you a jester and it would be super hyper mega cool of you to forgive me."

Chloe couldn't help but chuckling at this one, this sentence was so Ethan. She definitely knew Beca had passed her verbal tics and mannerisms to her son.

The brunette continued, "And I'm sure that you look bad-ass with your glasses on. And it would also be super nice if that hug story could stay between us. "

"Softy Beca doesn't want others to know how much of a sentimental she is?"

"I'm not sentimental," replied Beca, making a face at the word sentimental as if it made her sick. "I just appreciate having my son in my arms and kissing him all over his face before he decides he's too big and asks me to stop because I'm embarrassing him in front of his friends. I'd hardly call it sentimental, but being a mom."

Chloe felt slightly guilty for bringing this subject on the table. "I'll always be there if you need someone to run into your little arms and squeeze hard," tried to comfort the redhead.

Beca laughed, "Thank you, Chlo'."

"What? It's true. You said so yourself, you'll need someone to cuddle. I love cuddling. We were obviously made for each other,"Chloe patted her shoulder against the DJ's one. "We'll be cuddle buddies!"

"Chloe?"

"Yes?"

"You're sooooo weird."

"Not my fault, redhair," Chloe said as if it explained everything.

"I think your parents rocked you way too close to the wall," Beca smirked before collapsing with more or less grace across the bed to reach the lamp and switched it off.

"I hate you," the redhead replied childishly.

The brunette turned under the covers in order to face Chloe. Despite the obvious lack of light in the room, Beca could still draw her outlines.

"Liar. You like me," the brunette saw the hint of a smile appear on the redhead's face.

Chloe, feeling her butt hanging up into the precipice moved closer to the center of the bed before gravity could make her fall on the floor. Without aiming to, her knee bumped into the DJ's one, sending her over the cliff on the other side of the bed.

"Ahh!" yelped the brunette.

Not wanting to fall, her hands clutched to the first thing that came, that being a piece of the blanket and a ginger's forearm. By reflex, Chloe grabbed Beca before she could fall. Unfortunately, what Chloe grabbed was the DJ's bottom.

Beca raised an eyebrow, "Eager I see."

Chloe pulled her up and brought the brunette on the bed before finally taking her hand off from the right butt cheek with all the slowness in the world.

"Next time, I'll just watch you fall," replied Chloe.

"You know, if you wanted to touch it so bad, you could have just ask instead of pushing me out of bed and making me risk a unnecessary whiplash," said Beca with a smirk, thinking embarrassing redhead.

Two can play a game, thought Chloe. "So can I touch it?" she asked cheerfully. Too cheerfully for Beca's opinion.

"Please, I demand at least one date before allowing this kind of stuff."

"Wow, high maintenance."

"Hey!" complained Beca giving a gentle nudge to Chloe.

Finally after a good 5 minutes, the two young women had calmed down enough to sleep. Beca slid on her stomach while the redhead kept fidgeting.

"You okay, Chlo?"

The redhead flashed her a smile as a sorry-for-annoying-yousign even if Beca couldn't see it, "Yes, sorry. I usually sleep in nude so I have a little trouble falling asleep with clothes on. I'll stop fidgeting soon, I promise. Sorry."

The DJ made a face, "Huh, I really didn't need to know that."

"Beca I grabbed your ass not even 10 minutes ago, not need to be such a prude."

"And with that, I'm avoiding this conversation and wishing you a good night."

"Good night, my favorite little bad-ass," replied the redhead and she could almost hear Beca rolled her eyes.


End file.
